Robert Wright's Nonzero

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.orgRobert Wright and Andrew Day discuss items from the Earthling. Recorded January 25, 2024.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.orgRobert Wright and Tamler Sommers discuss what you can and can't say about transgender issues.Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Tamler Sommers (Very Bad Wizards, University of Houston, Why Honor Matters). Recorded October 10, 2023.

2:33 Fear and loathing on the campaign trail 2024 10:16 Haley’s shortcomings, Trump’s cognitive decline 25:1 Who’s the perfect Democrat to run against Biden? 40:48 How Biden could stop the Gaza war 48:29 Why the Houthis are hard to neutralize 1:00:42 Could Trump sabotage the border security deal? 1:17:18 Doctor bots, robo-receipt checkers, and AI optimism 1:33:29 The real problem with America’s elites 1:42:56 Is catastrophe the only thing that can save America? 1:52:23 Bob tries to drag Mickey (back) into the JFK assassination rabbit hole 1:58:52 Has DeSantis destroyed his brand?Mickey's Substack:Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The End of Equality). Recorded January 20, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nonzero.org/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:31 Bob saves Paul from some very bad influences 6:01 What makes Hitler more evil than Stalin and Mao? 13:27 New lab leak evidence—what will come of it? 23:00 Correcting the record on effective altruism 37:14 Is “self-plagiarism” really plagiarism? 47:27 The dishonesty researcher accused of academic dishonesty 52:38 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Paul Bloom (https://smallpotatoes.paulbloom.net, University of Toronto, The Sweet Spot, Against Empathy). Recorded January 18, 2024.

0:31 Reid’s deep roots in the tech world 4:30 The kind of AI pessimism that irks Reid the most 16:16 Can (and should) we slow down AI progress? 28:16 Could AI help resolve international disputes? 34:51 The promise and perils of perspective-taking AIs 47:36 Why Reid co-wrote Impromptu with GPT-4 52:15 Where are the AI optimists? 1:00:32 Sam Altman and the OpenAI drama: a (semi-) behind-the-scenes view 1:14:49 How dangerous is open-source AI, really? 1:20:09 Is AI acceleration decelerating? 1:23:02 Engagement with China and “organic transparency”Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Reid Hoffman (Greylock Partners, Inflection AI, Impromptu, Possible). Recorded January 9, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nonzero.org/subscribe

1:58 Mickey’s in Iowa—and on the Nonzero Podcast! 5:51 Do Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley have a chance? 17:44 Why Biden will probably lose 25:52 Wait, are there Democratic primaries? 40:10 Would Trump 2.0 be a more capable authoritarian? 51:13 AI bots that cater to your every need 58:07 Why doesn't Biden get tougher on the border? 1:07:32 Exciting new Child Tax Credit updates 1:11:12 Is Twitter going down the tubes? 1:18:33 Bob fails to escape from JFK assassination rabbit hole 1:32:13 Subways and other things that have gotten worse 1:36:34 Mickey’s Iowa caucus predictionRobert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Mickey Kaus (kausfiles, The End of Equality). Recorded January 11, 2024.Mickey's Substack:Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nonzero.org/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org1:44 How the Gaza war harms US interests 12:16 How the Gaza war harms Israel’s interests 22:49 Could Biden get Israel to wind down the war? 31:57 Biden’s complex political calculus on Israel 42:35 The Israel lobby: what it is and what it does 51:27 How elements of the lobby intimidate critics of Israel 54:42 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Stephen Walt (Harvard University, Foreign Policy). Recorded Jan 9, 2024.Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:33 Tim seeks Substack synergy beyond Bob 3:21 Recent contributors to Bob’s AI anxiety 9:36 Why “Mamba” matters 13:53 Is AI moving too fast? 24:12 Are fears of an AI “jobocalypse” overblown? 35:02 AI’s (potential) next transformation 38:15 Heading to OvertimeRobert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Timothy B. Lee (Full Stack Economics, Understanding AI). Recorded January 4, 2024.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nonzero.org0:31 Jeff’s journalistic bona fides 4:09 The origins of the official assassination narrative 11:12 Oswald: Lone gunman? Patsy? Both? 19:52 The CIA’s interest in Oswald before the assassination 31:17 The Pentagon’s scheme to provoke war with Cuba via false flag 40:00 How Bob started down the JFK rabbit hole 44:39 Oswald’s critical time in New Orleans 51:39 Why did Jack Ruby kill Oswald, really? 57:57 Why JFK’s assassination still matters Robert Wright (Bloggingheads.tv, The Evolution of God, Nonzero, Why Buddhism Is True) and Jefferson Morley (JFK Facts, Snow-Storm in August). Recorded December 28, 2023. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

Robert Wright and Andrew Day discuss items from the Earthling.1:10 Where’s Mickey? 5:28 Why ChatGPT is the real person of the year 21:09 The New York Times sues OpenAI 34:08 Bob’s bitter vindication on Russia-Ukraine 43:40 Israel threatens a wider war 48:53 Efforts to remove Trump from the ballot 1:00:41 2024 predictionsRead this edition of the Earthling at: https://nonzero.substack.com/p/nzns-person-of-the-yearRecorded December 28, 2023. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nonzero.org/subscribe